My Boring Life

Flip It

Good news: it's no longer January. And the people rejoiced.

Or, at least, I rejoiced.

I'm not a big fan of January. It's actually my least favorite month. It seems to last forever and the cold weather exacerbates its position. It should be noted that I'm February is my second least favorite month. But it steers clear from "the worst" distinction because 1) it has fewer days than January [even in a leap year] 2) it's now the month of Kaelyn's birthday so I'm liking it more and 3) it's one month closer to spring.

So here's to one another cold month in the books while inching ever closer to a warmer and greener existence.

Best of Beit [2007 Year In Review]

I was looking through the posts I made on the blog this past year. I averaged about one post per day in 2007. While there were many one liners and links, sometimes I wrote a little substance. Here's some stuff that either sparked opinion, was a major event of the year or was, in my humble opinion, just good stuff. Among other things I . . . Reviewed Ohio State's loss to Florida in the National Championship [football, not basketball].

Predicted the Catch Phrase of 2007.

Unpacked The Secret [Parts 1, 2, 3].

Went Back To School without Rodney Dangerfield.

Spanked Kaelyn.

Affirmed the awesomeness of soccer.

Went to the Amish Creation Museum.

Noted my desire for the iPod Touch months before it was released [and was finally gifted one last week].

Predicted Narron's firing.

Didn't get pregnant.

Resisted vehicular manslaughter.

Did not view p0rn.

Endured a horrible Bengals' season.

Did not deflate my wife's lung.

As Sinatra would say, it was a very good year. Enjoy your New Year, kiddies!

"My Daddy"

They say its my birthday. It's your birthday too if you're Tiger Woods, Lebron James, or Matt Lauer. Closer to home, there's my brother-in-law Scott, Lexi Eddy, Ashley Keene, and Shane Hively. The one thing about the era of Myspace and Facebook is that you can't really hide your birthday. I received more emails today about it than I ever had. I'm not sure I can remember a Sunday birthday since I've been in the ministry; I'm sure it's happened, but I have no memory of it. The thing about being a minister is that Sunday is a work day. I'm not complaining, but it's tough to absorb things when you're moving constantly. I've never been a big birthday person anyway. I was telling my mom today that she should really get the attention since she was the one who did all the work so I can celebrate today.

But my day was great. We had lunch with my parents and my grandmother. My sister's kids in Indianapolis serenaded my voicemail. I had a great time teaching tonight at church, with everyone back from Christmas. Kaelyn was wonderful all day [well, at least around me]. She's taken to referring to me as "my daddy." It sounds funny, but I love it. Everything she did today made me smile. Kelly was awesome as usual, making me wonder how I ended up with her in the first place.

Speaking of first place . . . I arrived home the FANTASY FOOTBALL CHAMPION! When I left for church this afternoon I was down fifty points, but came home with the lead. Props to Chad Johnson and Clinton Portis who had huge days making it happen.

So overall I'm feeling good. Not quite sure I feel 32. But after reading Entertainment Weekly this afternoon, I discovered that Fergie [of Kids Incorporated, Black Eyed Peas and "London Bridge" fame] is also 32. I've decided that I look better than her. Disagree if you must.

I was born. Horray for me.

Busy

That's how I would describe life right now. Kelly's recovery is going well but it's taken me all week to get back on track. In addition to regular duties, I'm finishing up my Xavier classes which has me scrambling. I finished up my Buddhism class already and am working on a major term paper for my Christian history class. I'll talk more about this paper in the weeks ahead to reveal my inner geek, suffice to say, it's consuming my thoughts right now.

Case in point: yesterday at 4:30 I found a book online that would really help me out. Scanning the internet I saw that it was available at the Athenauem [the Catholic priest school here in town]. I called their library and they pulled the book but they closed at 5pm. I was in the car by 4:40 and made it to the Mount Washington area [weaving through rush-hour traffic] only to find the library doors locked. I found an open door and wandered through the building, eventually finding the library. It was a crazy trip, but I got the book I needed.

So I have a ton on my mind so I thought I'd dump it out for fun:

  • The Bengals lost and I'm somewhat happy. Another 8-8 season wasn't going to help. More losses means a better draft pick and we need all the help we can get.
  • In a related note, Bryant Gumble is the worst play-by-play man ever. He referred to the 49ers running back as "Al Gore."
  • Continuing the football talk, apparently I'm still alive in my fantasy football league. It's a two week, cumulative points match-up. Still, the guy I'm playing has both Randy Moss and Tom Brady, so it's a long shot.
  • Kaelyn is awesome. She's moving all over the house now, up and down stairs.
  • Playing indoor soccer again and am having a good time. Last night some young punk, instead of passing the ball,  wanted to show me up and beat me one-on-one. I just stuck with him for thirty seconds and picked his pocket. He proceded to cleat me in the ankle. I just laughed because I might not be as fast as I used to be on the soccer field, but I'm smarter and more patient.
  • Despite the impending white death we'll have church tomorrow night. It might be just me, Kelly and Kaelyn but unless there's a certifiable blizzard, we're open.
  • Plus, I find it funny that if there's snow a'comin' the local media sends someone out to Camp Washington where they load the salt on the trucks. Why do people care where the salt comes from? And I always laugh when they remind you, "if you don't need to be out on the roads, stay home." How many people get in their car and say to themselves, "I don't need to go anywhere, but I'm going to drive around for a few hours anyway"?
  • I still need to break down more about the Mitchell support, but I love that neither Major League Baseball nor the Players' Union took responsibility for the steroid problem. After all is said and done, it's no one's fault.

That's enough for now.

Through The Cracks

Things I didn't get to mention this week:

  • I actually went to the Bengals game with Aaron last Sunday. The Bengals are so bad I really contemplated whether or not to take a free ticket. I did and it was a great decision. As bad as the Bengals are right now, the Titans looked much worse.
  • I had a connection to the officer that got injured this past week in the car chase on 1-75. I kept seeing his picture in the paper and knew he looked familiar. I worked with his wife Toni when I was on staff at Cincinnati Christian University. Word is that he's doing better but prayers would always help.
  • The funny thing about the picture book awards thing last night was the discrepancy in people. There were some totally serious amatuer photographers there along with hacks like me. One guy there was a meat-eating, red-blooded American dude from Kentucky; he was wearing a Reds jersey so I  struck up a conversation with him. I honestly thought he was there with his wife. Later his picture won first place in the animal category. It was a beautiful picture of a butterfly. I guess you can't tell a book by its cover.
  • Speaking of baseball, this is an early call but I'm going to go with it: the Reds will make the playoffs this year. Getting Francisco Cordero changes the entire look of this team. I still think someone will be moved here soon to get another quality starter. As much as some people want to keep them, I can see Ryan Freel and Josh Hamilton not wearing Reds uniforms next year. Of course, if Boston gets Johan Santana, they automatically get the World Series trophy without having to play the game.
  • If you live in Cincinnati you've probably noticed those annoying CincyAutos commercials with the chick holding the sign. I'm just not sure what to do about that. Even on a pornographic level it doesn't make sense. You could argue that it's memorable but the only thing it's done for me is insure that I'll never buy a car from them.
  • Mike Huckabee is coming on strong in the Republican race. I didn't think he had a chance but while Giuliani, Thompson, and Romney are all finding new ways to insert their feet into their mouths, Huckabee is appealing to the unsatisfied conservative base. He had a good debate the other night and I'm really starting to think he has a legitimate shot at this. The Dems are still neck and neck as Hillary is watching her lead evaporate.
  • If you aren't busy tomorrow afternoon, take a tour of OTR with Dan. You have no idea how amazing our city is. I'd be going but Nate and Julie are getting married then. More on that later.
  • I'm about ready to delete my Myspace account. I just can't stand looking at it anymore.
  • Tonight, a church planter I know in North Carolina will be featured in a story on NBC Nightly News. I met Tadd on the interwebs and, despite him being a North Carolina fan, have found him to be a great guy. I've already DVR'd it and you should check it out too.
  • Scott and Robyn Duebber are some of the most amazing people I know. If we were all like them, this world would be a much better place.
  • For some reason, this news article makes me laugh. Not because the guy was hunting on a golf course, but also because he's studying to be a mortician. I keep thinking that this is the kind of guy Kaelyn will bring home one day.

There. That's enough to chew on for now.

Thr33

I didn't write a Thankgiving post yesterday. It seemed everyone was doing it and we were busy doing nothing anyway. We're in Lexington today for Thanksgiving Part Deux and I brought no belt with me in anticipation of the gluttony to come. By far, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday: family, feast and football. Quoting the immortal Brett Michaels [now linked to Thanksgiving time, in my mind at least]: ". . . and it don't get better than this. "

Anyway, it was three years ago today that I started Beit Carr. So on the threshold of my senior year of blogging, I thought I'd reevaluate my initial reluctancy to start the blog:

1. "I lack the passion to be a successful blogger." Apparently I was wrong about this. I've been able to sustain the blog, with 1,118 posts in 1,095 days. They say the key to a good blog is consistent posting and, so far, I've been able to keep it up.

2. "I don't type well." Honestly, I would say that this has been one of the biggest benefits of blogging. I type much better now than I did three years ago. I've been able to notice it as I work on papers for classes. I still tend to favor my right hand, but for someone who never took a typing class, I can put out a good amount of words in a respectable amount of time.

3. "I obsess over the words I use when I write." Again, I really think blogging has helped my usage of words. I'll still make the occasional error when I don't edit well but I have Kelly [and now Melissa] to let me know when I screwed up. With the blog and my sermons and my papers, I now produce a voluminous amount of words every week. This encourages me to expand my vocabulary and continually strive for creativity in what I write.

4. "My job constrains what I can say." I would say this is very much different as well. Echo has been the perfect church for me. I'm liberated to say what needs to be said, with a leadership that understands me and my motivation. About two to three times as many people read this blog than actually are a part of our church. So Beit Carr extends my influence. I still understand the responsibility that accompanies this medium but I no longer fret how something will be received.

So those of you who keep up on my life here on the blog: thanks. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I do writing it. I love my little corner of the interwebs and look forward to maintaining it for the years to come.

Mil

Apparently my last post was #1,000 here on Beit Carr. That's a lot of crap. My stats also said I'm up to 942 comments thus far. Since I used Haloscan for a period this is probably not accurate, but perhaps I should offer now that whomever posts the 1,000 comment will get . . . well, most likely nothing. But I will give you a shout-out. UPDATE: As if anyone will go back to read this, I discovered that the 1,000 comment was made by Scott Duebber. Good for him.

Email I Just Sent

. . . to my buddy Dale who is traveling in China for business this week. He asked if I wanted him to get me anything while there. My response:

Dear Dale,

Please get me a chicken from China. I have no other reasoning beyond the ability to sing the line from the Barenaked Ladies song, "Chickity china the chinese chicken You have a drumstick and your brain stops tickin'." If it is illegal for you to get me a chicken, then I will be disappointed.

My second choice would be something labeled "Made In China." I don't think I've ever owned anything from there before.

I trust you will do your best.

Back Online

Rough weekend around here as I came down with another sinus infection. Imagine someone hitting your forehead with a hammer and you get a good idea of what it feels like. Additionally, while I was still wallowing yesterday, Kaelyn started feeling warm. She posted fevers of 103 and 104.5. And we were a little worried as we just switched her doctors and our new insurance didn't kick in until today. But the new pediatrician was awesome and said to give her drugs and liquids. The little trooper is feeling much better today.

Also, this past month was also great learning experience in the lesson of bandwidth. The good news is that lots of people are downloading our Echo Church podcast. The bad news is that I left the files so big that we used up all of our bandwidth this weekend. That meant the church website, this blog, the family website, and our Echo Church all shut down. It resets in May, so we're finally back up. I did some website maintenance [thanks, Brian Coates] and we shouldn't have this problem again. I learn something new everyday.

You know while the blog was down I thought of a hundred things to post about. And now, I think I've forgotten them all.

Speaking Up

FYI, I haven't had hardly any comments since switching over to the Wordpress format. I think I accidentally had something regulated that stated you had to be registered through Wordpress to comment. I switched that off. So maybe I'm just not saying anything interesting enough to comment on, which is fine, but far be it from me to suppress the populace.

New Digs

I finally made the switch over tonight. It took a little bit of work, but I was able to import all of my old posts from Blogger. It required that I delete a ton of my posts, but they'll all be archived here. It'll probably take me a few weeks to fully customize the site, but it'll be a site to behold . . . or something like that. So thanks, in advance, for your patience. I'll get back in the saddle this week and resume regular posting.

Embrace change.